Crime Story Daily

PM Stories San Quentin Prison Was Free of the Virus. One Decision Fueled an Outbreak. Timothy Williams and Rebecca Griesbach, New York Times ‘Incarceration Should Not Mean a Death Sentence’: Advocates Want a Plan to Stop COVID-19 Spread in San Quentin Lakshmi Sarah, Sara Hossaini, and Kate Wolffe, KQED UC health experts: San Quentin coronavirus outbreak could pose threat to entire Bay Area Jason Fagone and Megan Cassidy, San Francisco Chronicle What Ohio’s COVID-19 Outbreaks Can Teach California Prisons Heather Harris, Prison Policy Institute of California Federal Executions to Resume Amid a Pandemic and Protests Hailey Fuchs, New York Times Thousands of US judges who...

PM Stories Supreme Court clears way for federal executions to resume Richard Wolf, USA Today Supreme Court won’t hear challenge to new federal death penalty procedure Robert Barnes and Mark Berman, Washington Post Golden State Killer pleads guilty to murders and other crimes that terrorized California Paige St. John and Luke Money, Los Angeles Times A prison sentence of life without parole isn’t called the death penalty. But it should be. Peter Irons, NBC News San Quentin: Covid-19 cases at California prison surge to 1,000 Abené Clayton and Mario Koran, The Guardian San Quentin State Prison is ‘deep area of focus and concern’ in California:...

PM Stories Hoping for Justice, Killed by COVID-19 Justin Fenton, The Crime Report San Quentin prison coronavirus outbreak ‘tragic, predictable and unacceptable’ Rong-Gong Lin II and Sean Greene, Los Angeles Times California governor grants clemency to 21 prisoners as thousands infected with Covid-19 Sam Levin, The Guardian How Cash Bail Disenfranchises People Of Color And Makes Our Criminal Justice System Inherently Unjust Maggie Germano, Forbes How a Group of Lifers Cracked the Code of Prison Reform Anna Clark, Politico Magazine 17 Rikers Guards Will Be Disciplined in Death of Transgender Woman Jan Ransom and Ed Shanahan, New York Times A Dangerous Man Brant Bingamon, Austin Chronicle He...

This is a curated selection of highlights from Crime Story Daily this week. On the criminal justice policy front: A piece from the New York Review of Books examines how “defunding” and “disbanding” police – radical ideas rooted in decades of prison abolitionist organizing – became the demands of the mass protest movement. As calls to defund gain unprecedented traction, NBC News focuses on what they might mean in practice, while a piece from USA Today highlights the handful of communities that have already started, diverting funding away from police budgets and into mental health resources and response teams. A...

PM Stories House passes broad police reform legislation in wake of George Floyd’s killing Felicia Sonmez, Paul Kane, and Rhonda Colvin, Washington Post Police Groups Wield Strong Influence in Congress, Resisting the Strictest Reforms Luke Broadwater and Catie Edmondson, New York Times Defund-the-police calls aren’t going away. But what do they mean practically? Tracey Meares, Phillip Atiba Goff, and Tom R. Tyler, NBC News Both parties’ police reform bills are underwhelming. Here’s why. Radley Balko, Washington Post The Coronavirus Crisis Inside Prisons Won’t Stay Behind Bars Editorial Board, New York Times Failing Grades: States’ Responses to COVID-19 in Jails & Prisons Emily Widra and Dylan...

PM Stories How the Federal Government Lost Track of Deaths in Custody Ethan Corey, The Appeal Inside the US’s Largest Maximum-Security Prison, COVID-19 Raged. Outside, Officials Called Their Fight a Success. (Louisiana) Anat Rubin, Tim Golden, and Richard A. Webster, ProPublica Committee approves controversial former Angola warden to lead Mississippi’s prison system Luke Ramseth, Mississippi Clarion Ledger Suspects in Ahmaud Arbery’s Killing Are Indicted on Murder Charges Richard Fausset, New York Times US inmates got virus relief checks, and IRS wants them back Rebecca Boone, AP News Georgia Budget Cuts Threaten Prisoners’ Ability To Challenge Convictions Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, The Appeal We Need More Trials By Jury...